April 24, 2009

No apologies: We love Bo

Some people think the media focuses too much on Bo, the new
First Dog. Actually, we have an opposite view – with so much gloom and doom
about the economy, a little puppy diversion is a good thing. What better way to
take our minds off our troubling times than by enjoying the Obamas and their
dog?

We can absolutely understand that some people care nothing
about Bo, and that’s one reason Joe Klein, in a Time magazine article about
President Obama’s first 100 days in office, wrote that “an obscene amount of
attention was paid to the new Obama family dog,” among other “tempests of the
moment.”

But no one should rob dog lovers of our brief, distant
interludes with Bo. Frankly, we were happy to get this snippet of information
from First Lady Michelle Obama on Thursday, when she spoke to a group of kids
at the White House during the annual Take Your Kids to Work Day.

When a young questioner inquired about Bo, Mrs. Obama said
he had made quite a fuss the night before – so much, in fact, that she and the
president thought someone was outside their bedroom.

“It was just Bo,” she said. “He was playing with his ball.”

Another White House official told the Washington Post that
Bo “likes to chew on people’s feet,” adding, “Oh, he’s a crazy dog.”